A/HRC/17/22 51. Mr. Kapito mentioned that Malawi had a strong legal framework relating to women’s rights. He said that the law review in progress (including review of the penal code and the domestic violence act) and the new legislation being drafted, in particular in the areas of human trafficking, gender equality, and HIV/AIDS, also constituted positive developments. However, he recognized that subsidiary policy instruments, such as implementation regulations, standards of operations and national plans of action, were lacking; that financial and human resources were often inadequate; and that services were often limited and no enforcement or monitoring systems had been put in place. The factors that impeded efforts for combating violence against women were mostly structural and deeply rooted, so the programmes for surmounting them should be sustainable and longterm oriented. 52. In the discussion that followed, the representative of Mexico underlined the commitment to implement the Cotton Field ruling. The representatives of Algeria, Italy, Tunisia and Sweden expressed their countries’ support for the elimination of violence against women, and highlighted concrete initiatives to this end, such as the recent launching in Italy of a campaign against female genital mutilation. The representative from the Russian Federation mentioned that violence against women linked to poverty and alcohol were being tackled in all regions of Russia as a matter of priority. The representative of Canada asked for specific recommendations on how to address violence against girls at school. The representative of the European Union inquired about the role of the new Working Group on discrimination against women in law and practice with respect to the prevention of violence against women. The representative of UNFPA noted the importance of community-based prevention strategies, explaining how traditional justice mechanisms can be used to support prevention mechanisms but also to deepen discrimination. The important role of civil society in preventing violence against women was also underlined. 53. Ms. Abdul Aziz referred to good practices in Indonesia of women’s groups reaching out to religious schools. She underlined the importance of not using religion as an excuse for harmful traditional practices, and concluded that this applies to all religions. Mr. Kapito highlighted the crucial role played by men in stopping violence against women. Ms. True stated that no country had adopted an approach of considering the impact on violence against women across all its policies. E. Panel 5: Challenges, good practices and opportunities in the protection of women subjected to violence 54. The last panel comprised Sarah Buel, clinical professor of law and director of the Diane Halle Center for Family Justice at Arizona State University; and Leanne MacMillan, Director of Policy and External affairs at the Medical Foundation for the care of victims of torture in the United Kingdom. 55. Ms. Buel, a domestic violence survivor herself, presented five strategies to enhance victims’ protection. Firstly, she indicated that women must be provided with the means and information to stay alive at home, at school, at work, before the courts, etc., via a survivorcentred action plan. Secondly, Ms. Buel said that interventions to protect survivors should be holistic; they should include community education to counter victim-blaming, teach survivors about their rights, force the media to report accurately, and monitor court hearings. These interventions should be “wrapping victims in services” and provide them with, for instance, budgeting skills, access to safety funds, job hunting assistance, and court accompaniment. 56. Ms. Buel stated that the third and crucial strategy was the economic empowerment of survivors to help them become self-sufficient and independent of the abuser. She said 13